44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 6, 2022 10:00AM
- May/6/22 11:20:43 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the passport situation in this country is so bad that people are actually camping out overnight outside of Canadian government passport offices just to receive service. It is a complete failure on the part of the Liberals, not our public service, to plan for a surge of renewals that everyone knew was coming.
Canadians are angry and they are anxious, having to cancel long-anticipated trips to see loved ones or vacations because of the government's failure to deliver the most basic of services. There are no excuses.
When can Canadians expect a return to normal processing times?
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- May/6/22 11:22:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, let us be honest. This whole mess and the inability to provide even the most basic government service like a passport renewal are entirely on the minister and the Liberals, not the public service. Everyone knew people would want to travel coming out of COVID. Everyone knew that the 10-year passports were expiring. Everyone knew, it seems, except the government, and here we are with long lineups around government buildings and phones not being answered.
Maybe it is time to get people back to their workplaces and rehire those who have been fired because of vaccine mandates to fix this. Would the minister not agree with me on that?
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- May/6/22 11:22:43 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have been preparing for this for some time. As early as December, we hired 500 new employees to process passports. We opened three new processing centres around the country, and over the weekends we opened as many locations as possible to serve Canadians. In addition to that, over 300 Service Canada centres are processing passport applications for Canadians.
We continue to do more to alleviate this unprecedented level of demand for service.
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- May/6/22 11:24:29 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the problems people are running into right now could have easily been foreseen. Telework works up to a certain point, but in the case of passport offices, employees need to be physically on site to provide proper service.
We have all come back to work in person here on Parliament Hill.
Why then are Service Canada employees not back at work on site?
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- May/6/22 11:25:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, as mentioned before, we have expanded the passport intake services at over 300 Service Canada offices across the country. We hired and trained over 500 staff already last December. We opened three new processing centres across the country and simplified the services. Canadians, Service Canada and our public service have been working night and day, and we need to thank them for all the work they have done throughout the pandemic.
We continue to work with public servants to make sure that Canadians are getting the service they are entitled to.
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- May/6/22 11:49:16 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the lines are around the block at Service Canada centres across the country, and budding entrepreneurs are charging upwards of $50 an hour to stand in line to help people get that golden walk-in appointment.
If we call the Service Canada passport line, we get a generic message saying “long processing time” and then it hangs up. However, when we go to the website, there is no mention of delays and no indication of a problem, leaving Canadians completely in the dark until it is too late in many cases.
Will the minister admit that this is a crisis?
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- May/6/22 11:51:49 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we need some answers here, not talking points, so I will go with this “despicable” or “annoying” question, I suppose.
I have heard from Madison and Michelle. They applied on March 14 for travel on May 4. They could have an expedited passport for extra money, and being held ransom, they paid. After over 400 phone calls and hours waiting on hold, they travelled one hour and 10 minutes to Halifax and slept on the floor overnight.
The government is downloading its ineptitude onto the backs of public service employees. When will it clean up this mess and put the “service” back in “Service Canada”?
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- May/6/22 11:53:06 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadians are lining up for days attempting to renew their passports so they can reunite with their families after two long years.
A constituent in my riding is feeling desperate. She is trying to visit a dying family member in the United States and is getting nowhere. Time is of the essence. If we fail to plan, we are planning to fail.
Will the government have compassion and fix the passport backlog so that Canadians can have the ability to say goodbye?
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- May/6/22 11:53:48 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for her advocacy for her constituents.
We have compassion for those who are facing the need for imminent travel, particularly when it is to visit a loved one facing dire health conditions. That is why proof of travel is needed and required in these cases in order to approach a passport centre or Service Canada office. Priority is being given to those who have imminent travel needs, and I encourage the member to reach out to me to discuss the issue further.
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